What Happens in Art Class
by maddie-mira
Summary: Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke end up in an art class. When Sakura is assigned to perform a song that's all about heartbreak, what will happen? How will a certain Uchiha react? Rated T for fluff in the 2nd chapter. SasuSaku, bit of NaruHina. Reviews welcome!
1. Chapter 1

Hello readers! So this is my first SasuSaku story, I hope you like it. For full effect, you should read this after or while listening to I'm Not That Girl from the musical Wicked.

_Why the hell are we doing this? _Was the thought going through Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto's minds.

Kakashi had signed them up for a summer arts class (by arts I mean anything from like, painting and sculpting art to musical art), insisting that they attend. _It will be good for you three, help you learn something about and get closer to one another, _he had said.

Now they were stuck in some stuffy old studio being lectured by their teacher, who was more than a bit odd. She never wore anything but baggy overalls and liked to dye her eyebrows (they were currently a shade of lime green). Thankfully they only had a week left of the class.

"All right, everyone," the teacher spoke, "now for your last assignment before this spontastic class ends. You are to present, this Friday, a rendition of a famous work of art. I have chosen a work of art for each for you myself." Some of the class groaned, others beamed at the prospect of showing their artistic talents.

The teacher went around giving each student their project subject. Naruto had to play Ode to Joy on the tuba. Sasuke had to paint or draw a copy of the Mona Lisa. When the teacher got to Sakura, Sakura learned that she was to learn and perform the song I'm Not That Girl from the musical Wicked.

Sakura sighed in relief. That wasn't so bad. _At least I don't have to play the tuba like Naruto; that's going to be torture to hear._ And she wasn't a bad singer; she'd been told that she had a good voice, although to be honest she thought it was just flattery.

The teacher dismissed the class, and Sakura headed home to work on her project.

(In Sakura's room)

Sakura found the song lyrics online and printed them out. On Youtube, she found a video of Idina Menzel singing the song, and a karaoke video that would provide the accompanying instrumental music for when she would sing it.

As she listened to the song, her face turned shocked, then sad. _The lyrics…it's like they read my mind. They say exactly how I'm feeling about Sasuke. Well, other than that part about the blonde, curly haired girl; I don't know anyone like that. _

After a minute or two of mulling it over, Sakura came to a decision. _There's no way that my feelings for Sasuke won't leak out while I'm singing this. So I'll use that. I'll put my emotions into the song and make the performance the best I can manage. _

(A week later)

"Thank you Naruto, that was lovely," proclaimed the teacher, although she was looking like she regretted giving him an assignment that involved music. Most of the class had covered their ears after the first ten seconds of Naruto's rather atrocious tuba playing. Even Sasuke and Sakura had covered their ears, grimacing, after the first minute.

"All right, Sakura, you next!" the teacher motioned Sakura up to the front of the classroom, where a small carpeted stage stood.

Sakura took her place onstage and picked up the microphone. As the music started to play, she took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

"Hands touch, eyes meet

Sudden silence, sudden heat

Hearts leap in a giddy whirl

He could be that boy

But I'm not that girl"

Her voice came out soft, yet clear and sweet, like a breeze caressing your cheek. The melody, as well as her jade green eyes, were filled with emotions that seemed one with the song. So much love, gentle sadness and regret, and the feeling that she was trying so hard to accept something.

"Don't dream too far

Don't lose sight of who you are

Don't remember that rush of joy

He could be that boy

I'm not that girl"

Sasuke stared at his pink-haired teammate, entranced. He knew she had a crush on him, but this? These emotions that she was showing…were they about him?

"Ev'ry so often we long to steal

To the land of what-might-have-been

But that doesn't soften the ache we feel

When reality sets back in"

_There_, Sakura thought as she sang. _Now he probably knows. I try to let go and get over him, but I just can't. I love him. But it's all for nothing. He doesn't love me back; I'm just the annoying fangirl to him, that's all I'll ever be to him. _A tear trickled down her cheek at the thought. _He'll probably just scorn me for this. But there's nothing I can do about it now._

"Blithe smile, lithe limb

She who's winsome, she wins him

Gold hair with a gentle curl

That's the girl he chose

And Heaven knows

I'm not that girl"

Sasuke was unable to tear any of his attention away from her. _Does she really feel so deeply for me? _His question was answered when Sakura glanced over at him, and a tear trickled down her cheek.

"Don't wish, don't start

Wishing only wounds the heart

I wasn't born for the rose and the pearl

There's a girl I know

He loves her so

I'm not that girl..."

The music ended; the whole class was silent. Sakura wiped the tear mark off her face, and gave a small smile. The room erupted in applause: everyone stood up from their seats, clapping and cheering and whooping their approval. Shortly following was a tangle of people rushing up to Sakura, gushing with compliments. "Omigod, that was amazing! You have such a great voice! Completely blown away! That had me crying, it was so wonderful! You should go into professional performing!"

Sasuke and Naruto were the only ones to stay in their seats, though they clapped too. Sasuke was looking down, his turbulent emotions hidden behind his customary expressionless mask. Naruto glanced back and forth between Sasuke and Sakura, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Excellent job, Sakura!" cried the teacher, green eyebrows raised in excitement.

Sakura thanked them all, hiding her real, downhearted feelings behind her own smiling mask.

"I believe that was the last project to present," continued the teacher. "It has been a pleasure teaching all of you. Class dismissed!"

Sakura made her way back to her desk and collected her things. On her way to the door

she passed near Sasuke's desk. Part of her wanted to glance briefly at him, just to gage his reaction. _Don't look, don't look…just keep going and look forward. _She resisted the urge and walked out the door.

"Hey Teme." Naruto addressed Sasuke with a serious face.

Sasuke lifted his head and made eye contact with Naruto. "Hn? What, dobe?" he asked in a monotone.

"Sakura's song…you know it was about you."

"I know." A troubled expression shattered Sasuke's emotionless mask.

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"I don't know!"

"Well you have to do something!"

"Don't you think I don't know that?"

"Sasuke, this has gone on for too long," Naruto insisted. "You have to resolve this."

"I know. But what do I do?" Sasuke contemplated the floor. He looked lost, quite an unusual emotion for him.

Naruto reached over and tapped his best friend on the shoulder. Surprised, Sasuke looked up and met Naruto's gaze. Naruto regarded him for a moment, a slight encouraging smile on his face. "Go after her. Go and talk to her."

"You're right." Sasuke gave Naruto a rare sight: a small but genuine smile. "You're right. Thanks, Naruto." With that he ran out the door.

"You're welcome." Naruto followed him out the door, but then turned to walk in the opposite direction. He better give them some time alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura walked at a steady pace toward her home. For a moment her thoughts were turned to everyone's reaction to her singing. That had been so surprising and wonderful. Maybe she should do something with her singing. _I felt so…__**alive **__when I was singing that song. Even if I was singing about…_

Her thoughts turned back to Sasuke. _What did he think of my song? He thinks I'm pathetic, I just know it. Oh, god, how is this gonna affect our team training together? How am I gonna be able to be around him now? Dammit, Sakura, why didn't you just ask for a different assignment?_

"Sakura!" Her panicked thoughts were interrupted by a voice. "Sakura!" The voice called again. Sakura stopped walking and looked behind her. Oh no. It was him. What could he want with her?

"Sakura." Sasuke stopped in front of her, panting a bit from running. Sakura had turned so that her back was to a rock wall and Sasuke's back was to a wood fence. "Listen, I need to talk to you." His voice and face were serious, and he also sounded almost nervous.

Sasuke _was_ nervous. After all this time he would have to finally break it to her, tell her the truth. This wasn't going to be easy.

For a moment Sakura didn't respond. "I need to talk to you," Sasuke repeated.

This time Sakura answered him. "Uhh, what about, Sasuke?"

"About this crush, this thing you've got on me. This is hard to tell you but-"

"I know what you're going to say, Sasuke," Sakura cut him off. "You're going to say that you don't like me and I need to get over you. I know I'm just a nuisance to you. I'm trying to get over you, but it's so hard, I don't think I can do it."

Sakura was looking down, and tears were streaming down her face now. "I'm trying, because I know how annoying I must be, and I know that it's pointless for me to feel this way," she sobbed. "But I love you, it hurts how much I love you, because I know we can never be-mmph!"

Sasuke had clapped a hand over Sakura's mouth. He tilted her head upward so she was looking at him. "Will you _please_ be quiet so I can talk?" She nodded, and he removed his hand.

"Sakura…I know I've pushed you away a lot. I'm sorry for that, I'm sorry for hurting you this much. After…after I lost my family," he continued, "it was hard for me. I was afraid to feel anything or get close to anyone for fear I might lose them too." He paused and glanced at Sakura. Her jade eyes were filled with sympathy.

He started talking again, "Then I found you and Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. You guys helped me to feel again. Especially you, Sakura." Before Sakura had the chance to register any shock, Sasuke took a step forward and pressed his lips to hers.

Sakura was absolutely flabbergasted, but after a moment a wave of euphoria swept her away. As Sasuke's eyes closed, so did hers. She kissed him back, their lips molding to and moving with each other. It was a sweet kiss, innocent but powerful, conveying so much meaning in one action.

The two pulled back from the kiss after a moment. Sakura was a bit dazed, still caught up in the euphoria.

Sasuke was blushing a bit but he was going to finish what he had started. "I love you, Sakura. I don't want to hide it any longer. I don't want to hurt you any more."

Sakura felt as though her world had been turned upside down, yet it felt so right at the same time. _He loves me! He actually loves me! He actually loves me back! _

Her smile lit her beautiful face. The smile was warm and affection-filled, and her jade eyes shone with happiness. "You know I love you back, Sasuke. And you know what else? All the pain was worth it to hear you say that."

Sasuke smiled, his second genuine smile that day, and leaned in to kiss her again. This kiss was deeper, more passionate. Both their emotions poured into it; the longing and sadness and joy and need, all those emotions that they had kept hidden for so long.

Sasuke nibbled Sakura's lower lip, making her moan. She then skirted his lips with hers, teasing him and getting a small moan out of him. Finally, Sasuke smashed his lips against hers, pushing her up against the wall. Needing more, he prodded the line between her lips with his tongue, asking for entrance, which she granted. As he slid his tongue into her mouth, he opened his own mouth, inviting her in. Sakura tasted of citrus and raspberries. The smell of cherry blossoms lay on her face and hair, and Sasuke inhaled deeply through his nose.

Sakura sighed with contentment as he entered her mouth, and she his. Sasuke tasted of mint and something fresh and cool. His warm cinnamon scent drew her in, comforting and oh so inviting. She put her arms around his neck and buried her hands in his smooth raven locks. Sasuke smiled through the kiss. He swung them around so his back was against the wall, enabling him to wrap his arms around her lower back and pull her closer to him.

Two minutes later, the two broke apart for air (they're ninja so they can hold their breath for longer than regular people). Gasping for breath, Sakura leaned her face on Sasuke's shoulder.

When she raised it again, she was grinning, rather giddily so. "How long?"

Sasuke understood instantly. "I think I liked you since the first two weeks or so of ninja school, but like I said I was afraid to make bonds with anyone. The feeling grew over the years. I think I realized I loved you after the mission to the Land of Waves, after I woke up with you crying over my body."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You've really loved me for that long?" She asked in happiness and disbelief. _So I haven't been making a fool of myself this whole time! He really cared!_

Sasuke smiled again (third time in a day, holy crap!). "I have."

Sakura then gave him a wink and motioned with her head to the road. "Well…I guess we should tell Naruto then."


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke groaned. "I guess so." _He is the one who made this finally happen, after all. He knew about my feelings for Sakura for a while. But I'm dreading his reaction when he sees us._

Sakura smiled. "Come on, let's go get it over with." Apparently she had been thinking along the same lines as him about Naruto's reaction. She took Sasuke's hand. He blushed in surprise but then curled his hand around hers. Together they walked to Naruto's place.

They reached the door to his apartment, and Sakura knocked three times. "I bet it won't be so bad," she commented to Sasuke.

"Hn," He gave her a look.

"Okay, it probably will be."

At that moment Naruto opened the door. A smug smile was spread across his face. "Come on in," he said, an evil glint in his eyes.

Reluctantly the two entered Naruto's apartment. "Geez, dobe, don't you ever clean up in here?" Sasuke commented as he sat down on one of two orange couches. A moment later he jolted to his feet. "OOOWWW! What the hell did I just sit on?"

Naruto came over to take a look. "Woops." He held up a kunai knife, grinning sheepishly. "Guess I forgot to put this away."

"Naruto! You idiot, you shouldn't be so careless with your weapons! That could've really hurt Sasuke!" Sakura gave Naruto a scathing glare.

"All right! All right! I'm sorry!" Naruto cried, holding his hands up. Then that smug, slightly evil smile from a moment ago was back on his face. "But let's get to more important matters. I saw you two holding hands when you came here. Why don't you tell me about that?"

Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other for a moment, silently communicating.

_Sakura: What do you think? How should we do this?_

_Sasuke: You go first. And feel free to hit the dobe if he gets too irritating._

"Well, you see Naruto," Sakura started slowly, blushing nervously, "Sasuke and I…"

_Just get it over with! _"We're together," she finished with a smile. Saying that made her so happy.

Sasuke seemed to like it too. His expression was still blank, but his eyes had softened.

"I KNEW IT!" Naruto had jumped to his feet and was babbling away. "It's about time teme! Sakura-chan, you have no idea how long teme here had been bugging me with this!"

"All right, dobe, you made your point," Sasuke glared at him. But if you knew him very well, as Naruto did, you would see the glint in his eyes that said thank you.

Naruto grinned back at him. _You're welcome. _"I always knew you guys would make a great couple."

Sakura was sitting so that her shoulder was touching Sasuke's. Now she leaned her head on his shoulder, tilting her head so she could see his face. Her green eyes shone. _He's so wonderful, so perfect…_

Sasuke blushed in surprise at first, but recovered quickly. He wrapped his arm around her petite body, pulling her close. He tilted his own head down so that he was staring into her eyes. Her bright, warm, beautiful jade eyes._ …I'm so lucky to have her. _His emotionless mask was replaced by a tender expression, adorned with a small but grateful smile.

"You're right, Naruto," Sakura remarked dreamily. "I think we are a good couple."

Naruto might be a knucklehead, but he knew his friends. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes since they'd become a couple, but this was the most emotion he'd ever seen Sasuke show. The smile, the way he looked at Sakura…_he must really love her. _

As for Sakura, he knew she loved Sasuke just as much. All those stolen glances at him, all the angst that she tried to cover up. But Naruto saw it. He had seen Sasuke's angst too; his conflict when he was afraid to connect with anyone, the brooding, the times when he would get distracted.

And the best part was that all that was over with now. They were together, and happy. "Congratulations, you two."

Sasuke turned to look his best friend in the eye. "Thanks, Naruto." Then he caught a hint of sadness on the blonde's usually hyper face. "Hn? What's wrong with you?"

"Huh?" Naruto put on a grin that was too big to be real. "Nothing, nothing! I'm awesome!" He waved his hands wildly back and forth for emphasis.

"Naruto, we're your friends," Sakura spoke up. "We know something's wrong. And you know you can tell us."

Naruto gave his teammates a grateful look. "Thanks, guys." Then he seemed to deflate a little. "I'm really happy that you guys are together, it's awesome. But…" He trailed off, staring at the floor.

"But?" Sasuke prompted.

"But….I guess I might be a little jealous. There's this girl…" Again he trailed off. His cheeks looked a bit pink.

"Oh, Naruto!" Sakura gushed. She got up from the couch and hugged Naruto. "You like someone? Do we know her?"

Naruto blushed deeper. "It's Hinata," he murmured. "But I don't know if she likes me."

Sakura and Sasuke gave him incredulous looks. _He really is a complete moron sometimes. _Hinata had liked Naruto since their days in the ninja academy. But they wouldn't tell Naruto that. He needed to find out for himself. But they could help him in the right direction.

"Naruto, we would be completely willing to help you get together with Hinata." Sakura smiled. Hinata and Naruto would be so good together. They were polar opposites, but they would balance each other out.

Naruto's eyes lit up with a hopeful, nervous light. "Really?"

"Sure," Sasuke put in, "I do owe you one after all."

The blonde broke out into a full-blown grin, a real one. "Thanks so much guys! I can't thank you enough!" With that he threw his arms around both of them in a crushing hug.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelped in surprise, giggling and hugging him back.

"All right Dobe, get off me," was Sasuke's response after five seconds of tolerance. He did owe Naruto more than he could say for finally getting him to talk to Sakura. Just this once, he would tolerate the hug. At least, that's what he was silently telling himself when he endured the hug.

Naruto chuckled and released his friends. "Ok, teme."

"Now," Sakura had that glint in her eye again. The one that told the boys the wheels and cogs were turning in her head. "Let's get you ready to ask Hinata out."

So Naruto has a thing for Hinata. About time, if u ask me; if Hinata turns bright red and faints whenever she sees him, you would think he'd figure out that she likes him. Naruto's just that thickheaded, I guess. But ya gotta love him anyway :D

Hey, sorry I took so long with this chapter. I've been out of my mind since school started trying to keep up with all the work. To people who have reviewed or favorited or put this story on their story alerts (or any combo of those), thanks so much! I'll be taking suggestions for the next chapter, anything you think should go in it just let me know, and I'll try my best to make it fit in the story. But I need reviews to keep me going, and I prefer reviews to favoriting/story alerts (although combining a review with one or both of those two would be wonderful), so please read and review!


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto stood in Naruto's small bedroom, preparing him to ask Hinata on a date. Naruto stood in the middle of the room with Sakura standing in front of him; Sasuke was seated on Naruto's bed, watching the scene unfold.

"All right, let's start with your outfit." Sakura circled once around Naruto, inspecting his clothes. He was in his usual orange jumpsuit, ninja sandals and leaf headband. Then Sakura caught a whiff of odor coming from his person. She took a step closer to him and breathed in deeply through her nose. The stink washed over her in a sweaty smelling wave. "Gross! Naruto, when's the last time you took a shower?" Sakura demanded.

Naruto scrunched his face up in thought comically. "Uhhh….I don't remember. Maybe a month?"

Sakura's mouth dropped open, rendered speechless. Sasuke's eyes showed shock as he stared at his blonde friend. Shortly after Sasuke reacted, Sakura found her voice. "NARUTO, YOU HAVEN'T SHOWERED IN A MONTH? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! WHERE IS YOUR SENSE OF HYGIENE? GET THE HELL IN THAT BATHROOM RIGHT NOW AND TAKE A SHOWER!" Sakura shrieked.

At this point Naruto was practically cowering against the wall. Even Sasuke looked a bit impressed at his pink-haired girlfriend. _Man, Sakura could scare the whole village shitless if she wanted to._

Naruto came forward a little bit from the wall, wary of starting Sakura on him again. "O-O-Ok, Sakura, I'll take a s-shower." He hurried into the bathroom and closed the door.

"And don't forget to wash your face and hair!" called Sakura.

"Got it!" Naruto's voice called back, sounding muffled as the shower started.

Twents minutes later, he came out, wrapped in a robe. His sunflower-blonde hair was soaking wet and plastered to his head.

"All right, so we aren't gonna go too elaborate on the outfit," Sakura decided. "Naruto, how do you get your hair the way you usually wear it?"

"I just let it dry on its own," he responded with a shrug.

"All right then. Sasuke," Sakura turned to her dark-haired boyfriend, who met her gaze expectantly. "Can you take a look in Naruto's closet and see if he has anything that isn't orange?"

"Hn. Sure, Sakura." He got up and walked by Sakura on his way to the closet. As he passed by her he gave her a short peck on the cheek. "I doubt there will be, though."

Sasuke rummaged through the things in Naruto's closet. Orange jumpsuit, orange shirt and pants, orange jumpsuit….wait! There were a few things at the back of the closet space. A couple black shirts and fishnet undershirts, some leaf insignia stuff. Sasuke pulled these out and held them up. "Sakura."

Sakura came over and saw the clothes in his hands. "That's perfect! Great job, Sasuke-kun!" The pleased smile on her face made Sasuke's heart beat a bit faster. Sakura gave him a quick kiss on the lips, looking into his onyx eyes in a moment of silent affection. Then she refocused herself on the task at hand.

"It'll take too long to wait for your hair to dry, Naruto. Do you have a hair dryer?"

"Nope."

"Ah geez. Sasuke, do you think you could control any of your fire jutsus well enough to dry Naruto's hair with it?"

Sasuke gave Sakura an amused look. "Worth a try." He smirked, already thinking of the ways he could needle his friend.

"All right, you guys do that, I'll pick out what he's going to wear," Sakura instructed.

1 hour later…

"I think we did a pretty good job on him, don't you think, Sasuke-kun?"

"I agree. Though I still can't see any girl falling for him," Sasuke joked as the two of them admired their handiwork.

"Teme! What kind of bad support is that?" Naruto protested indignantly. "Sakura, do I really look ok?"

"You look great Naruto," Sakura smiled. _Naruto's insecurity is so sweet. What makes it even cuter is that he's insecure about impressing Hinata. _

Naruto wore orange pants and long-sleeved fishnet undershirt. On top of the undershirt he had a black t-shirt with the leaf symbol in the middle of the shirt. Over that he had an orange coat that hung unzipped just above his thighs. For accessories he had his usual ninja headband and sandals on.

"All right, now for the final touch." Sakura declared.

"What? We're not done yet?" Naruto whined.

"Oh, stop fussing Naruto, it's just one small thing. I actually went out and got it while Sasuke was drying your hair."

"Oh yeah, while Sasuke was trying to burn me up, you mean."

"You know I wasn't going to actually burn you, right?" Sasuke interjected.

"Suuuure," was Naruto's only reply.

"Ok, anyway guys," Sakura put emphasis on the word anyway. "Here's that last touch I was talking about." From behind her back she pulled a single lilac bloom. "Lilacs sometimes symbolize first love, and it matches Hinata's eyes; she'll appreciate that with her eye for detail."

"Good thinking, Sakura," Sasuke said.

"Yeah, good thinking!" Naruto almost parroted Sasuke.

"Ok, now comes the hard part." Naruto and Sasuke stared at Sakura incredulously. This had been the easy part? "Now," continued Sakura, a weary look crossing her face, "now we have to teach Naruto some manners."

Sasuke groaned.


End file.
